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James Murray

Mon 27 April 2026 19:45, UK

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Nottingham Forest set up their blind trust to avoid being punished by the multi-club ownership rules after Uefa’s deadline. 

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the governing body could “play hardball” over the situation at the City Ground.

Forest secured their place in the Europa League semi-finals after beating Porto earlier this month, with Aston Villa standing in their way of a final showdown against either Braga or Freiburg.

Vitor Pereira’s side would qualify for the Champions League if they manage to win the second-tier competition this season.

However, Evangelos Marinakis’s ownership of Forest and Olympiacos, who could also qualify for the elite European club competition, presents a potential issue. 

How Nottingham Forest missed Uefa’s multi-club ownership deadline

Marinakis has put Forest into a blind trust as Uefa’s rules prohibitting clubs controlled by the same owners or directors from competing in the same European competition. 

The ownership change didn’t appear on Companies House until 17 April, but The Athletic reported on 20 April the Reds are confident they acted in time to avoid breaching the multi-club rules. 

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed Forest’s situation following the late filings.

“The first thing to say is there’s no question that the blind trust commenced on 17 April and not before,” said Borson.

“There’s no question that the Uefa correspondence says that everything needed to be done by 1 March. There’s no question that last season everything was a strict 1 March deadline.” 

Why Nottingham Forest’s paperwork was delayed

Borson revealed the reason behind the delay was due to Forest’s new directors having to pass the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test.

“We never found out last season whether Forest had effectively had permission from Uefa to do what they needed to do by 1 March and were only awaiting, for example, for the owners’ and directors’ test from the Premier League to come through,” said Borson. 

“We do know that the owners’ and directors’ test was the reason for the delay until 17 April. 

“That seems reasonable, but likewise if Uefa wanted to play hardball, they could also say, ‘Well, why didn’t you start the owners’ and directors’ test much earlier? You knew it was going to take six to eight weeks. Why wouldn’t you start it in October or November? You knew this issue was going to be live, so what were you waiting for?’.”

Forest are set to take on Villa in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie at the City Ground on Thursday (30 April).